Method for the production of a battery housing

Abstract

A method for producing a battery housing produces intermediate products, including a lower and upper half-shell, for connecting these intermediate products with one another at the facility of a battery manufacturer. The battery is set into the lower half-shell, the upper half-shell is set on, the inner wall of the lower half-shell is welded to the inner wall of the upper half-shell, and the outer wall of the lower half-shell is welded to the outer wall of the upper half-shell, with a supported vacuum insulation interposed between the inner and outer walls of the lower and upper half-shell, respectively, to form a reversibly closed battery housing with integrated thermal management for a battery. An assembly kit may be delivered to a battery manufacturer for non-problematical production of a battery housing at the facility of the battery manufacturer to eliminate transport of the battery to the battery housing manufacturer.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for the production of a multifunctional battery housing with integrated thermal management, the battery housing comprising an upper half-shell and a lower half-shell connected to the upper half-shell, the method comprising:
 (a) forming a first partial intermediate product comprising the lower half-shell and molded insulation parts, wherein the lower half-shell comprises an inner wall and an outer wall and the molded insulation parts are disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall for insulation or support; 
 (b) forming a second partial intermediate product comprising the upper half-shell and pre-manufactured molded insulation parts, wherein the upper half-shell comprises a pre-formed inner wall and a pre-formed outer wall and the pre-manufactured molded insulation parts are interposed between the pre-formed inner wall and the pre-formed outer wall; 
 (c) joining together the first and second partial intermediate parts to produce the battery housing with an integrated battery so that the battery is set on site into the lower half-shell; 
 (d) connecting the pre-formed inner wall of the upper half-shell with the inner wall of the lower half-shell by openable weld seams; and 
 (e) subsequently setting the pre-formed outer wall of the upper half-shell onto the pre-formed inner wall of the upper half-shell with the pre-manufactured molded insulation parts interposed between the pre-formed inner and outer walls and connecting the pre-formed outer wall of the upper half-shell with the outer wall of the lower half-shell by openable weld seams. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second partial intermediate parts are joined together at a facility of a battery manufacturer. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the inner wall and the outer wall of the lower half-shell are produced by way of hydro-forming and the pre-formed inner wall and the pre-formed outer wall of the upper half-shell are produced by way of hydro-forming, the lower half-shell and the upper half-shell each having a double-walled construction. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the upper and lower half-shells are produced so that each of the upper and lower half-shells individually comprises an inner and an outer wall, with the interposition of a molded insulation part, in each instance. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising a sheet-metal cuff reinforcing and externally encompassing at least one of the outer wall of the lower half-shell and the outer wall of the upper half-shell. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 5 , further comprising tailored blanks additionally reinforcing section by section at least one of the outer wall of the lower half-shell and the outer wall of the upper half-shell. 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the tailored blanks provide additional reinforcement in a region of attachment elements for connecting the battery housing with a vehicle body. 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer wall of the lower half-shell is additionally firmly connected with a bulletproof plate or a bulletproof molded part adapted to an outer contour of the lower half-shell, at least in certain sections. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the bulletproof plate or the bulletproof molded part is light-weight, impact-resistant, and high-strength. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the bulletproof plate or the bulletproof molded part is connected with the lower half-shell in interchangeable manner. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the half-shells are connected with one another by circumferential weld seams after the battery has been set into the lower half-shell. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein a top edge of the lower half-shell and a bottom edge of the upper half-shell are provided with circumferential sheet-metal lugs on the outer walls, in each instance, wherein the lugs are rolled into one another, forming a rolled seam, and welded to one another. 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the half-shells or the half-shell sections of the half-shells are provided, in each instance, with one or more vacuum ports for evacuating the molded insulation part that lies on the inside of the half-shells. 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the vacuum port comprises, in each instance, an opening in the outer wall of the lower half-shell or the upper half-shell, wherein a stair-shaped, metallic suction flange encompasses the opening and forms a step equipped with a metallic sealing compound, and wherein the suction flange is welded to a wire mesh that covers the opening, on a lower edge that faces insulation or support material, and is provided, on the step, on a top edge that faces away from the insulation or support material, with a lid element having a domed state in which the lid element is domed convexly outward, wherein the lid element does not cover the opening in the domed state, and subsequently a vacuum extractor that covers the opening and has a connected vacuum pump is connected with the vacuum port and is used to evacuate the support or insulation material that lies inside, and thereafter the lid element is spread by a punch integrated into the vacuum extractor, and consequently pressed into the metallic sealing compound, and as a result the opening is closed off and sealed. 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the vacuum port comprises an opening of the outer wall of the lower half-shell or the upper half-shell, wherein the edging of the opening has an edging provided with a metallic sealing compound, on a surface that faces away from the insulation or support material, and a lid element is held in place above the opening, at a distance, using a holding rod, and the opening is covered by a vacuum extractor with a connected vacuum pump, for evacuating after complete assembly and joining and closing of the half-shells with the insulation or support material inside an insulation gap situated between the inner and outer walls, and subsequently, the metallic sealing compound is inductively heated until the metallic sealing compound becomes liquid, and thereafter the holder of the lid element is released, consequently the lid element is lowered so that the lid element covers the opening and an outer circumference of the lid element is immersed in the heated metallic sealing compound, then the inductive heating is shut off and, after cooling and hardening of the metallic sealing compound, the opening is closed off. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the vacuum port comprises an opening of the outer wall of the lower half-shell or the upper half-shell, in each instance, wherein the opening is covered by a vacuum extractor with a connected vacuum pump, for evacuating the support or insulation material that lies inside, and subsequently the opening is closed off with a plug that is closed off, in vacuum-tight manner, by a weld seam in a closure position of the vacuum port. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lower half-shell is pre-manufactured as the first partial intermediate product, comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein one or more molded insulation parts are disposed as insulation or support material between the inner and outer walls, and having a duct for one or more electrical connectors to extend from inside the first partial intermediate product, through the inner wall, the insulation or support material, and the outer wall, to outside the first partial intermediate product, and the first partial intermediate product is equipped with the battery and supplemented with the second partial intermediate product of the upper half-shell to produce the battery housing having an insulation gap between the inner and outer walls, after complete assembly and joining and closing off of the half-shells, wherein the insulation gap is evacuatable by way of one or more vacuum ports. 
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lower half-shell is pre-manufactured as a partial intermediate product, comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein one or more molded insulation parts are disposed as insulation or support material, between the inner and outer walls, and having a duct for one or more electrical connectors to extend from inside the partial intermediate product, through the inner wall, the insulation or support material, and the outer wall, to outside the partial intermediate product, and the upper half-shell, comprising a pre-formed inner wall and a pre-formed outer wall, is produced with the interposition of one or more pre-manufactured molded insulation parts, and after the battery is set into the lower half-shell, the upper half-shell is set onto the lower half-shell with shape fit, and subsequently the outer walls of the half-shells are connected with one another in a connection region, in vacuum-tight manner, by a circumferential ring-shaped metal sheet or multiple ring-shaped metal-sheet sections that complement one another to form a ring-shaped metal sheet. 
     
     
       19. The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the circumferential ring-shaped metal sheet or the ring-shaped metal-sheet sections that complement one another to form a ring-shaped metal sheet are equipped with a corresponding molded insulation part on a side that faces an interior of the battery housing, in each instance. 
     
     
       20. The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the outer walls of the lower half-shell and upper half-shell are spaced apart from one another so that the inner walls are connectable with one another by a circumferential weld seam, through a gap opened between the outer walls.